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NATIONAL MEMORY
Frank Buckles, from Charles Town, W. Va., is 108 years old. He was 16 when he first joined the army as an ambulance driver, helping prisoners of war in Germany. Now Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of World War I, is pushing to develop a memorial on the National Mall to commemorate those who fought in World War I, according to [a Dec. 2, 2009 article in USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-12-02-WWI-veterans-memorial_N.htm?se=yahoorefer).
The Frank Buckles World War I Memorial Act that is now before Congress would transform the existing D.C. World War I Memorial into a combined D.C. and national memorial if passed. The existing World War I Memorial is modest in comparison to the nearby World War II Memorial, which lies between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall.
Pending Congress’s passage of the bill, the new memorial will be named and rededicated the “National and District of Columbia World War I Memorial.” Legislation would allow a sculpture to be added to the site and would provide government funding for its maintenance. The National Park service has allotted $10 million for restoration of the memorial, according to the legislation.
The bill outlines the reasons for the reconstruction of this monument, namely that the United States’s entry into World War I marked the beginning of the “American century.” Moreover, the bill states that while there are memorials dedicated to those involved in the three subsequent conflicts – World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War – more Americans were killed in World War I than in either the Korean or Vietnam Wars. As the centennial anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I approaches, the bill states that the reconstruction will ensure future generations will be able comprehend the history of the United States’ struggle against aggression and totalitarianism.
Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) testified on behalf of Buckles in support of the legislation.
“I believe that it is right and appropriate to honor our World War I veterans with a national monument on the National Mall, near the memorials honoring those who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam,” Webb said to The Daily Transcript of San Diego.
The bill faces competition from a bill sponsored by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), which calls for the Liberty Memorial at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo., to be the nation’s official World War I memorial. “
